thehowe_v7.1

My parents need a new TV. They've had their current CRT for over 8 years now, and for the last two years or so it's been broken. You can still watch it, but the color is all messed up. It randomly tints the picture a different color (blue, green, yellow, red, etc.) every so often, which often makes the picture unwatchable. The only way to fix it is to turn the TV on and off several times until the color resets itself.

My Dad has wanted a new TV ever since it broke. Of course, he doesn't just want to replace it. He wants to upgrade to a HDTV. After two years, my mom finally relented.

So, of course, it falls to me to do all the research to figure out which HDTV to get.

Right now, I'm debating whether to go plasma or LCD. On the one hand, plasma has a higher viewing angle, which my parents will need if they want to keep their current setup. On the other hand, LCDs are higher resolution, and seem to be cheaper at the lower sizes. Plasmas can handle lots of motion without blurring, but LCDs tend to have crisper images because of the higher resolution. Plasmas display truer blacks, but they also have a tendency to burn-in withing the first 100 hours of use.

Overall, I'm still undecided. For the kinds of shows my parents will be watching (sports, movies, standard-def cable) it seems like plasma has a slight edge. However, I'm getting a Xbox 360 for Christmas, and I want to be able to play it on the new TV, but it's unwise to play video games on a new plasma because of burn-in.

Sigh. Decisions, decisions.

I need to get this off my chest right now. I was just watching a show, Eureka, on SciFi, where they had to restart a man's heart. So, they break out the defibrillator. Okay, first of all: this is supposed to be set in a town full of crazy super-geniuses with ultra-high-tech toys. The best they have is a defibrillator? Please. Secondly - and this is what really gets me - after two shocks, they stop defibrillating, and start performing CPR. And then his heart starts beating again.

Hollywood, listen up. I'm sick and tired of seeing you get this wrong:

1. CPR can't restart a person's heart! All it does is keep the blood flowing until someone can do something more effective. (Like, oh, I don't know, use a defibrillator! Idiots.)
2. If you're really doing CPR correctly, you should be breaking ribs. This wussy bounce up and down on the guy's chest crap doesn't cut it. You want to pretend CPR is more effective than it is, for dramatic license? Fine. At least have the decency to break some bones while you're at it.

I swear, if I see one more medical drama, or cop show, or anything, where CPR restarts a person's heart, I'm going to write a letter. That's right, you heard me! Don't think I'm bluffing!

I just got done watching an episode of "Beauty and the Geek 2." I know, it's a reality show. On the WB. Despite all of that, I actually like it. Here's why: one of the basic premises of the show is that, despite there being a cash prize at the end, the real goal is for the contestants to learn to look past stereotypes and in the process learn more about themselves. Now, let's take a step back: this is a reality show, and this is the WB, so we can't expect too much. That said, I think it does an admiral job of trying to do the idea justice. It's nice to see a television show giving a real look at how difficult supposedly "easy" activities like talking to someone or doing social activities can be for somebody like, well, me. You might think that the "geeks" on the show are fake or somehow unique in their social difficulties; I can assure you that they are not.

Also, from a purely entertainment standpoint, I enjoy watching people who could very easily be me, or the person sitting next to me, actually acting the way we act on TV, only without having to act. If that makes sense.

• In 1hr 10min I will have eaten dinner.
• In 8 hrs I will be asleep.
• In 25 hrs I will register for next year's classes.
• In 5 days 6 hrs 10 minutes it will be my birthday.
• In 5 days 16 hrs 10 minutes will be my first final.
• In 1 week I'll be done with classes.
• In 1 week 2 days I'll be done with finals.
• In 3 weeks 5 days the first new episode of Family Guy will premiere.
• In 4 weeks 6 days I'll be in Seattle for my internship.
• In 3 months 4 weeks 6 days I'll be done with my internship.
• In 1 year 1 month I'll graduate.

w00t.

So, the new series American Dad, from the creators of Family Guy, premiers today. I have to say, it sucks. It sucks hardcore. The Simpsons at its worst was better than this. If the new episodes of Family Guy later this year are this bad, I am not going to be happy.

I am currently watching - and this is completely true - a movie about a killer pinata. I love late-night cable TV.

There is quite possibly nothing more entertaining than Fresh Prince of Bel-Air re-runs on Nick @ Nite. What a great show.

I think living in the dorms this year has been bad for my temper. Every time I have to wait in line behind those dumb-ass freshmen in the lunch room, I mutter the threats of death and violence a little bit louder. I've also gotten to the point now where if a person is standing in the middle of the only clear space to walk looking confused, I just shove past them without bothering to excuse myself. Or I say "excuse me, you stupid bastard". Not too loud, mind, but one of these days it's going to get me in trouble.

P.S. I love South Park. For the record, I voted for the giant douche.

Well, we had the end-of-year pool staff party tonight. I had a few near-death experiences and some pizza. All in all, it was fun. To be honest, I'll only miss about half of them, but that's okay. It was a pretty good group. I probably won't be able to work there next summer since I'm hoping to get an internship somewhere, but hopefully I'll have time to stop in and say hi.

One thing I haven't been doing lately is watching the olympics. I've caught a few of the swimming events (Phelps is pretty damn impressive to watch), but other than that I'm not really interested. I do have to say, though, that some of the events seem awfully contrived to me. Take beach volleyball, for instance. I can understand how playing two on two makes it more challenging, and I can understand how playing on the sand adds a certain degree of difficulty. What I don't understand is why the women have to wear two-piece swim suits. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I just don't see what value wearing a two-piece for volleyball has besides sex appeal.

Location: Tours, France

Ugh... I'm bored. The rest of the family is out walking around, which I've done quite enough of for one day. The only show on TV that's not in French is CNN, and news is boring. Right now I'm watching Sentinel in French. Yay. Maybe I'll take a nap.